


Question in the Dark

by A_Bag_Of_Halflings



Series: Nick & Nora Collection [3]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: F/M, Fluffy, a little sad, far harbor spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 12:02:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9234224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Bag_Of_Halflings/pseuds/A_Bag_Of_Halflings
Summary: After a long day on the Island, Nick and Nora retreat to The Last Plank in Far Harbor, but Nora can't sleep.





	

"Nick," Nora whispered sadly into the dark.

It was the dead of night, and he was sure that even the monsters of the Island were asleep. She was laying on her side, facing away from him and using his arm as a pillow. The one that had come with The Last Plank smelled like smoked seaweed and rotten fish. It's new home was across the room and under a broken chair. He was laying on his back, staring at the darkened ceiling, and his mind had been preoccupied with DiMa. Or specifically, things that DiMa had said.

He sighed heavily, "Yes, Nora?" It was nearing midnight, she should have been asleep hours ago when they had dragged themselves in and gotten a room. She'd been dog tired even before they'd arrived, complaining the whole way back from Acadia that her feet were sore and now she didn't even sound tired.

She was silent for a minute, he could feel her fingering his jacket sleeve idly. If she continued to do that, he'd have more holes than jacket. "Do you think I'm a Synth?"

He laughed before he could properly process what she said. He wasn't the only one who was still thinking about DiMa. Nora remained seriously silent beside him.

"You're a human, Nora. No doubt about it." There certainly wasn't any doubt in his own mind, but it seemed that the suggestion had buried itself in her mind and begun to sprout. He just had to dig it up again and throw it away.

She turned in his arm, burrowing her face into his neck, his lips pressed against her forehead. "What if I'm not?"

"That's ridiculous." He whispered down to her.

"Why is it ridiculous? Why can't I remember anything before the day the bombs fell?"

"Trauma. Time. Side effect of being frozen for two hundred years. But not because you're a Synth."

"But how do you know it's not because I'm a Synth? Everything that DiMa said that indicates a Synth. Strange dreams, missing memories. All of it."

"Look, Nora," He said, pulling away from her and sitting up. Her face illuminated slightly from the glowing of his eyes in the deep darkness, and god did she look so beautiful even in the dim light. "You're not a Synth. The only person who could have replaced you with a Synth would have been Shaun. Do you think he would've done that to his own mother?"

"Yes." She said quietly, "He made one of himself."

"What would have been the point of making you as a Synth though? There's no logical explanation sweetheart."

She sighed, snuggling back up against his chest, and all he wanted to do was hold her, and not have her be troubled by these thoughts that she shouldn't have, "What if he wanted to see what sort of conditions would allow me to find him? What if he'd run through that simulation just with a bunch of Synth Noras?"

"Nora- " He pulled away from her again, getting a tiny bit angry that she was becoming upset over this, "You're not a Synth. If Shaun had been doing this sort of thing then every Nora before you would've ended up on my doorstep, and there hasn't been. You're the only Nora to leave the Vault, who made it to Diamond City, and to see the Institute. And Shaun's gone, it's not like you can just ask him."

"And what if I were a Synth though?"

"And what does it matter? Even if you were there'd be no way to tell for certain until you died, and I'm gunna make damn sure that won't happen for a long time. But you're not a synth."

"Sorry Nick." Nora mumbled sadly under her breath. He'd just noticed the tears glistening at the edges of her eyes.

He sighed, now he felt terrible about speaking to her as harshly as he did. It didn't really matter if she were a Synth or not, and she shouldn't have cared either. It wasn't like her to take something so personally.

"Look here, my darling, don't cry." He soothed, "Everything's fine. It doesn't matter."

He held her close as she cried for awhile, until she fell asleep. He counted the minutes to sunrise, to when she woke up from her sleep and she felt better. He counted the minutes it took her to get ready, counted the seconds that her lips were pressed to his. He counted.

He counted the minutes she spent eating breakfast while he smoked. He counted the minutes of her chatting with some of the friendlier locals from Far Harbor. He was going to count every minute of the life they spent together. He didn't want to forget any of them.

He wasn't going to forget even a single moment.


End file.
